Thursday, June 30, 2011

Our list of funniest words...so far!

Quirky
Pickle
Corset
Thingamabob
Shitz-zu
Shiskabob
Escargot
Nuts....really, just any excuse to say it:)
Taco and Burrito (whats that coming out of my speedo?)

Care to add any more?

Field Trip #3 - the Lavender Farm




We went to the Lavender Farm yesterday for our field trip. We learned all about a working farm and how great lavender is....and really how many uses it has for everyday life! We also learned about the importance of bees: in addition to be very prevalent among the lavender, the farm also has a number of hives on site! There is also a small petting zoo there where the boys were able to interact with a lot of animals. We also found a new word for our funniest word list - 'sachets' which the boys 'won' filled with lavender for finding 4 leaf clovers on the farm!

From Billy: Yesterday we went to the lavender farm. They have animals and lavender. We went into the bunny cage and watched the bee hive. We also went into the duck pond where the ducks were fighting....we yelled, 'duck fight'! They also had really mean white geese that I chased into the waters.

From JJ:I went to the lavender farm. I fed the bunnies and the little horses. They drooled. It was gross. But they were cute.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Swim Meet

Last night I had my 3rd swim meet at Ashby. We won again and so far we are undefeated. It's good we won because they are our biggest rivalry. I swam in the freestyle relay, medley relay (fly), 25 butterfly, 25 breaststroke and 25 freestyle. It was not my best meet because my stomach hurt and my times were slower. In between the events, I went over and played dodge ball. The pool was small but they had a lot of land. In the middle of the swim meet, we heard thunder and lightning so we had to wait 30 minutes but that was okay. At the beginning of the meet we heard thunder too so we had a 10 minute delay. After the 30 minute delay we heard some thunder but apparently nobody cared because we kept swimming. I love swim team, it is my favorite thing to do.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Golfin' Around




From JJ: We hit golf balls as far as we could. I almost hit 50. Then we played putt putt. I got a hole in one on hole #5. Putt Putt is pretty much my best sport now.

Weekend Roundup



Minnie won the firefly trophy. We have a new tradition. A firefly catching contest. We are going to do it the first official weekend of summer. We had 15 minutes and whoever got the most fireflies won the trophy. Minnie caught 38. I was second. JJ 3rd and Mickey last.

Then see the picture of our hike. We followed the white blazing trail over the rocks. It is our favorite hike....Bearfence. We do it at least one time every summer. A few years ago, we really did see a bear and cub on this hike. But nothing this time.

Friday, June 24, 2011

BBC - The Strange Case of Origami Yoda




From Billy: Yesterday we had Boys Book Club. We had Yoda Soda (see pic of JJ), asked questions to Origami Yoda (see pic of me and 'H') and did a dance party to the twist. After it was over, me and my friends got in the stream and walked back to the waterfall where it was the deepest...about 3 Feet Deep. The stream goes into a pond that says no swimming and we werent supposed to be in the stream....but I think it is pretty clean. BBC is fun!

From JJ: My friend 'K' is coming to swim at the pool with me today. We are going to go off the diving board and we are going to go off the slide. 'K' is pretty much my best friend!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Field Trip #2





Hess Greenhouse and Farm....and The Butterly Exhibit:

We learned that monarch butterflies live about 11 months and fly to and from Mexico in that time!

From Billy: We went to see the butterflies and one landed on me. You put sugar water on your hands to attract them. Bright shirts also attract them, but we forgot to wear one! At the farm, we also went down the 60 foot underground slide, rode the cow train, played on the wooden train and rode the marry go round. Our friends 'C' and 'B' came with us. They are JJ's friends from preschool, but I like them too!

From JJ: I went to Hess's Greenhouse. There was a donkey there. I liked him because I like Eeyore! Butterflies tickle your fingers but the are really really cool. I like when they land on me!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

BBC 2.0 is famous!!!!

Our book club just finished reading a great book and we sent this picture to the author and he put it on his website and now we are famous!

Check out this link!

http://origamiyoda.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/fake-mustache-conquers-the-world/

JJ in action!


This picture of JJ made the team slideshow. Being nervous in his first ever meet, he was directing me to be at the end of his lane when he finished. We did not even know if he would do it until the last second when they pushed the 'beep!' But, he did - traveling the whole 25 freestyle in 1:02. Yeah for JJ!

Go Barracudas!






From Billy: Last night I had my 2nd swim meet. I swam the 25 butterfly, 25 breaststroke, 25 freestyle and a relay that was freestyle. It was the first time I ever swim butterfly and breaststroke and I got second place in both! All of my strokes were legal. My team won! The meet got cut short because a very bad thunderstorm hit right after my relay and only 4 events were left. When we were leaving in the storm, the rain was almost hail because when it hit my shoulder it hurt kinda bad. I really like swimming, and it is my favorite sport...but I don't like backstroke!

From JJ: I had my first swim meet last night. I did freestyle. Swimming is not hard. It is fun.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Jumps and Flips...




JJ just started going off the diving board two weeks ago, and already has a huge repertoire of dives...including the eeyore, the old man, falling off the mountain and my favorite.....The Ninja!!!

Billy has graduated to front flips this year..although sometimes his attempts end up as back smacks!

10 Years!



As if 10 years of marriage were not an accomplishment on its own, we also climbed McAfee Knob - the most famous point on the Appalachian Trail - to celebrate. But by far the best memory of this milestone was our handmade card by Billy and JJ....done completely by themselves, with no adult prodding!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Nothing says summer....


Like catching fireflies!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Field Trip #1

We are taking a field trip once a week this summer. Today, we opened a bank account for Billy and JJ to keep their life savings. JJ deposited $93.....Billy $88 (he likes the french fries at the pool too much, and spend more there!) They are going to combine their money together when they are able to buy an ipad. That is, of course unless they can get the B Family to sell the quarry....and then they will save for that. We have made an offer to them....but I don't think they are sellin'!

Billy and JJ wanted all their fans to know they would gladly accept donations for the ipad/quarry fund!

The Quarry....and BBC 2.0 Kick-off!


From Billy: Yesterday, we had Boys Book Club and it was at the B's Quarry. It used to be a running quarry but when they were digging they hit an underground stream and it filled up with water. Right now, its just about 1 foot from as high as it has ever been. That means its flooded and its about 5 feet higher than usual, and it is usually 65 feet after the drop. The drop is usually like right at the water, but now it is 20 feet out and me, M and A all went out to the middle of the quarry. Before we went swimming, we did our work for Boys Book Club - like the scavenger hunt and bookmarks and stuff. Before everyone got there, I rode the four wheeler all by myself! I went as fast as I could and almost wrecked because the turn was sharp and and was going really fast and I had to cut through the grass. I also rode it after while everyone was about to leave and I am in the same class who owns it and I have been there before so I got to drive it myself. Only me, JJ, A & M and our parents rode it. Every kid there wanted to ride it but their parents would not let them. I got lucky because it is my favorite thing to do at the quarry.


From JJ: I rode a four wheeler. I hated the pizza. I jumped off a rock into the water. I love the quarry!

School's Out for the summer!




Both boys had really successful school years, and now they are 1st and 3rd graders! We are already off to a great and busy summer....they will be posting a lot this summer of all of their 'adventures!'

Here they are on the last day of school....playing their favorite game in the ditch at the bus stop....then an action shot of getting on the bus (Billy was very embarrassed that his mom was taking a picture so he rushed quickly out of my lens capabilities!)

Since Billy already wrote a synopsis of his school year....here is JJ's! Also included is a sentence on the first exciting week of summer!

My favrit prt of cidergrtin was reses. My techr was Ms. Mycl. Citdrgrtin was cl.
I wit off the divin bord. My favrit div is the Eoor div.

Translated: My favorite part of Kindergarten was recess. My teacher was Ms. 'M'. Kindergarten was cool. I went off the diving board. My favorite dive is the Eeyore dive!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Field Day





School is almost out...and that brings one of the best days of the year...FIELD DAY!

Billy and JJ had a great time with their classes....and Minnie had fun running one of the stations.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

A Great Year in Second Grade!


Billy is home sick again....so yeah, another post from him. It is getting all you Billy and JJ fans warmed up for his barrage of summer posts!
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Its just about the end of second grade (just 6 days left) - and in second grade, I did so many things like drive a go cart, have a part in 3 plays and learned a lot in class! We even finished our math for the year so we are learning multiplication!

In class, my favorite things that we learned about were American Indians and Ancient China. I also really liked when we did the museum for Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln. I think the Pueblo Indians made neat houses...and they called them Pueblos. A crazy thing about Ancient China that I learned is that if you did not work hard enough or fast enough, you could get buried alive....in a wall!

This year I played a lot of sports like soccer, snowboarding, wrestling and swimming (which I will do this summer).

At recess, we tried a lot of new games like firefighters, American Indians, Star Wars, attack on Libya, attack on Pearl Harbor, Boys -vs- Girls, Ancient China, recess patrol, tornado hunters, lego star wars, Army, Air Force and Navy Marines, paper airplanes and paper airplanes Air Force. My favorite recess game is Star Wars and Air Force/Navy Marines.

I think SSES is a great school. We won the fun run race for the second time in a row. I also really liked the 100 Year Snooze. It was my first time in a play and it was fun. I really like doing things at school when we are not in class, like All Pro Dads. Me and JJ like to be in the school without anyone else there. I also had a lot of fun at the Hoe Down and International Night.

I was lucky to get a really good teacher this year named Mrs. Coffman. She was fun and nice, but strict. She made us work really hard and we learned a lot. We learned everything we need to know for 3rd grade like 2 weeks ago so that is why we are moving on in some subjects. Sid, Andrew, Casey and Brice were my best friends in my class this year....and so were some of the girls. It was also fun to go on recess or to specials to see some of my other friends from other classes.

Second grade was pretty cool!